Last week we talked about the importance of keeping and maintaining good gut health. We talked about how it is our number one immunity, and communicates with our entire body. But what happens when there is imbalance (dysbiosis), and how do you treat it?
As mentioned last week, poor care in feeding these resident microbes, because of stress, poor diet, antibiotic use, ect. creates irregularity in these important creatures as well as a myriad of symptoms. Under these circumstances,these bacteria begin to shift and wane in their number and diversity. The opportunistic bacteria begin to acquire more and more real estate as the beneficial bacterial are crowded out.
Sometimes antibiotics give us some relief, by reducing some of the unwanted bacteria, but that only lasts a short while until the opportunistic bacteria once again take over and the symptoms continue. In fact, because antibiotics are so widely used, a lot of these bacteria are resistant, and won’t even respond to them. This dysbiosis can lead to what is called a leaky gut, which is increased permeability in the gut. With leaky gut, you won’t get the nutrition from your meals as well as other symptoms that can arise (food allergies, fatigue, ect).
Why are they so hard to kill?
Sometimes just taking probiotics or eating rich probiotic food isn’t enough to kill off these bad bacteria. Why? Well growth of these bad bacteria takes work to kill. With these bacteria and candida, the key to really kill off these difficult bugs is what is called “biofilm”. Biofilm is like a sticky glue, sludge like substance that coats the organism. It basically is like a shield for the organism and doesn’t allow it to be penetrated. This part of the organism never really gets looked at, but is vital in order to fully eliminate them. One of the trickiest parts of Candida overgrowth is the biofilm, because it can regrow in a matter of hours.
What is Candida?
Candida is a systemic overgrowth in a particular type of organism, a fungus called candida albicans. Now this organism in natural in our bodies in small amounts, however in what we have mentioned before with sugar, stress and antibiotics, this can cause it to overgrow. Most women, and some men are familiar with yeast infections, and are given an anti-fungal to help “cure” it. The problem with these is that they don’t really work, or they do, just not long term. They don’t kill the biofilm, so recurrent infections can occur, or they are kept at bay with probiotics, waiting for a stressful time, improper diet ect. Additionally, the classic “candida diets” never work long term either, because as soon as you stop, it regrows within days because the biofilm was never touched.
Testing for candida is also hard, I have found that if it doesn’t show up in a stool analysis, but you are suspicious of it, it can come up in a blood test. I use it with a food allergy test, but at that point it is systemic throughout your body.
Candida is really common, and has multiple symptoms depending on severity and the length of time it’s survived.
Symptoms include:
THE WAY YOU FEEL
nability to focus, Poor memory, Brain fog, Irritability, Anger, Dizziness, Depression, Crying spells, Panic attacks, Low libido, Persistent extreme fatigue, Hyperactivity, Cravings for sweets and alcohol, Insomnia, Poor coordination.
YOUR DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
Acid reflux, Bloating, Flatulence, Nausea, Diarrhea, Constipation, Stomach cramps, Indigestion, Burping after meals, Mucus in stool, Hemorrhoids, Itching anus.
YOUR SKIN
Acne, Cysts, Hives, Night sweats, Psoriasis, Eczema, Dermatitis, Fungal infections of the nails & skin, Athlete’s foot, Body odor.
YOUR MOUTH
Thrush (white coating on tongue), Swollen lower lip, Halitosis, Metallic taste in mouth, Bad breath, Canker sores, Bleeding gums, Cracked tongue.
YOUR RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
Persistent cough, Mucus in throat, Sore throat, Sinus congestion, Chronic post-nasal drip, Flu-like symptoms, Hay fever symptoms, Sinusitis, Asthma.
YOUR EARS AND EYES
Eye pain, Itchy eyes, Sensitivity to light, Blurred vision, Bags under eyes, Ringing in the ears, Ear infections.
YOUR GENITO-URINARY SYSTEM
Recurring yeast infections, Recurring UTI’s (urinary tract infections), Cystitis (inflammation of the bladder), PMS & menstrual irregularities, Fungal rash.
YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM
Frequent colds and flu, Allergies, Sensitivities to food, fragrances and chemicals. Any bad bugs decrease your immune system so you are always more prone to infections.
YOUR WEIGHT
Inability to lose weight, Water retention, Weight loss.
OTHER SYMPTOMS
Headaches, Heart palpitations, Chronic body pain and/or joint pains, Muscle aches and stiffness.
This might sound like a lot of you, and the symptoms aren’t to be confused with other conditions, but the fact is that it is really common in so many people, because of our lifestyle.
How do you kill these bugs and the biofilm?
It’s not an easy fix with these bugs, the process takes months, but doing it the right way will eventually work. The process has to be done in a system of feeding the good bacteria, and then switching and killing the bad bacteria/fungus. It’s called weed and feed. Usually during the weekdays you feed the bacteria with probiotics, antioxidants and prebiotics, then the weekends, you take a biofilm destroyer, as well as fungal destroyers such as oregano, melalucea,other herbs and garlic. The reason you have to do it this way is because if you just try to kill kill kill you won’t get anywhere. You have to do it slowly, because you will feel pretty awful killing these things off, you won’t want to take it again. Also, there has to be good bacteria available afterwards to repopulate the area, so it has to be a system.
During the weeding phase you will experience detoxification symptoms such as increased fatigue, headaches, ect., but this process makes it easier, and those days can always be decreased if it’s too much for that person.
It’s important to not give up! Dysbiosis can be helped with a myriad of herbs and supplements it is just a long process. Chiropractic wise, low back pain and sciatic type pain can come from gut dysfunction as well, because of its relationship with major muscle stabilizers. It is all connected.
I hope this helped you or someone you know with similar issues. If you have questions don’t hesitate to ask.
Enjoy your week!